"Alright, stop—stop!"
Lin Mo knew she was deliberately teasing him again. In this lifetime, he was still a hot-blooded young man. Alone with her in a private room like this—how was his poor heart supposed to take it?
"Hm? What is Lord Lily-of-the-Valley thinking about?"
Yae Miko grinned wickedly. "You're already eager to experience something this intimate just because I mentioned it?"
"T-That was you who said it!" Lin Mo blurted out, his face flushing red for once.
"Alright, alright~"
Yae Miko laughed indulgently. "Once we're back in Inazuma, I'll let Lord Lily-of-the-Valley see my treasured light novels~ These are all unique copies you can't find on the market."
"Just whisper to me what kind you want to experience~"
"Unique copies…"
Lin Mo knew instantly. There was no way these were anything respectable. More like manuscripts sent to her that were too explicit to be published.
Now that Yae Miko's black-bellied nature was fully on display, Lin Mo couldn't help but worry.
"Ei… she hasn't secretly read your 'treasures,' has she?"
"Oh~ right."
Yae Miko seemed to think of something amusing. "She stays in the Plane of Euthymia all day—must be terribly bored, right?"
"As her closest friend, shouldn't I share these collections with her~?"
"No—don't corrupt her! Ei doesn't need your sharing!" Lin Mo cut in immediately.
This kind of unconventional charm—having Yae Miko alone was already more than enough.
If even Ei turned out like this…
Inazuma would be in chaos.
Seeing the worry on Lin Mo's face, Yae Miko's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Everything was going exactly as she'd expected.
"Since we've mentioned Ei, when are you planning to go see her?" Yae Miko changed the topic smoothly.
Lin Mo frowned in confusion. "Now that you mention it… why were you the one who came to Dragonspine to find me?"
"Where's Ei? Why didn't she come?"
"Mm-hmm~" The shrine maiden smiled mysteriously. "A kitsune's dreams know everything, you see~"
"Before setting out, Ei knew I was coming to find you."
"But… she seems troubled by an old promise."
"She said it's been thousands of years and she still hasn't fulfilled it—she's afraid you'll blame her."
"So… she's trying hard to make it up to you now."
"A promise? What promise?"
Lin Mo was puzzled. "I remember she promised me quite a lot of things back then. How's she supposed to make it up?"
Yae Miko pressed a finger to her lips. "It's a surprise my dear friend prepared just for you—top secret~"
"So mysterious…"
Lin Mo frowned. She'd completely piqued his curiosity.
"Then, Lord Lily-of-the-Valley, why don't you list the promises my friend made to you? I can help eliminate them one by one."
"If you want to ask, just ask. It's not some unspeakable secret."
As Lin Mo spoke, his thoughts drifted back to the past.
"She… back then, the things she promised me—if I really count them all…"
"Probably no fewer than a hundred."
While Lin Mo and Yae Miko reminisced about Ei's promises,
Ei herself sat alone in the Plane of Euthymia, utterly dejected.
She glanced sideways.
The entire Plane of Euthymia was littered with scorched, failed attempts.
"Cooking is so hard…"
"It's even harder than making the Shogun or that kid Kunihiko…"
She was already thinking of giving up.
"Oh, right."
Suddenly, Ei thought of something and murmured,
"Instead of learning to cook myself, why not let that girl figure it out?"
"If I add a 'good at cooking' setting for her…"
"When there's a need to show culinary skill, she can do the cooking. That works, right?"
"Mm… sounds good. After all, she and I aren't really separate."
Once she made her decision,
Ei quickly summoned the Raiden Shogun into the Plane of Euthymia.
After some simple adjustments to her settings,
Ei lay back contentedly in the Plane of Euthymia.
She wasn't sure whether the Raiden Shogun would actually be able to make delicious food as configured.
But right now, she didn't want to try anymore. She simply couldn't learn it.
"Ah… if Lord Lily-of-the-Valley finds out I'm slacking off again…"
Ei couldn't help but think.
After all…
He used to nag her quite a lot back then.
"…Did you really come back?"
Thinking of Lord Lily-of-the-Valley, anticipation welled up in Ei's heart—
along with memories she'd rather forget.
Back then, one companion after another had left her side.
If not for the fox Yae Miko—whom Lord Lily-of-the-Valley had once picked up and who later succeeded in taking human form, staying with her all those years—
her fragile heart might not have endured.
"Lord Lily-of-the-Valley…"
As she murmured the name, her thoughts drifted even further back—
to the days beneath the blooming sakura trees, when everyone was still there.
At that time, among the twin gods of thunder, Ei was the warrior—the embodiment of martial might.
Yet in contrast to her overwhelming strength, her personality was gentle and shy.
"Ei! We agreed to have a picnic together~"
"Why do you never bring a bento of your own?"
Kitsune Saiguu complained as she spoke,
yet still used her chopsticks to pick out the fattest piece of meat from her lunchbox and place it into Ei's.
Ei merely nodded shyly and put the meat into her mouth.
"Eh? Ei, why do you look like that?"
Saiguu immediately noticed the strain on Ei's expression.
As Ei chewed, a look of torment crossed her face.
She almost couldn't stop herself from gagging.
By the time she finally swallowed,
it was obvious to everyone—
Ei's face had gone pale.
"Ei, what's wrong?"
A gentle male voice sounded just then.
Lord Lily-of-the-Valley, who had arrived late, saw Ei's pained expression at once.
Seeing him, Ei's eyes reddened with grievance as she complained,
"Lord Lily-of-the-Valley… Saiguu gave me meat… it wasn't cooked…"
"Hahahahahaha!"
Mikoshi Chiyo burst out laughing.
"Ei, are you stupid?! Saiguu's from the Hakushin bloodline—she's a fox! Foxes love raw meat! What kind of tasty food were you expecting from her?"
The oni clan's bold, hearty temperament seemed to trace back to Chiyo herself.
"What's wrong with raw meat?!" Saiguu protested.
"I gave her the fattest piece! I didn't even want to eat it myself!"
"Sigh… just as I expected."
Lin Mo shook his head with a wry smile.
As he spoke, he handed a bento box to Ei and said,
"I remember you saying you liked the snacks I made last time. So today I prepared a few extra portions. Here—eat up."
"Wah!! Lord Lily-of-the-Valley! That's not fair!!"
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T/N:
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